Editing Summary:Words of Radiance

Eshonai, Thude, and Bila examine a gemstone with a captured [[Stormspren]] inside that Venli believes will allow them to rediscover stormform. Bila thinks that anything that will help in the war against the [[Alethi]] is worth it, but Eshonai worries about provoking the old gods. They depart, and Eshonai decides that she will see her mother. On her way, she sees a group of [[Parshendi]] that have chosen the dull-form, the form most like the [[Parshmen]]. Eshonai questions them on the cause of their transformation, and they respond that they do it so the Alethi will not kill them when they come. Eshonai is concerned by this response but understands that the [[Parshendi]] are free to choose their own forms, as they are no longer ruled by the old gods. Continuing on her way, Eshonai eventually arrives to see her mother, who suffers from dementia and believes Eshonai to be her sister, Venli. Despite her mother's declining memory, Eshonai is still able to elicit some information from her regarding Parshendi history. Her mother tells the story of the Last Legion, the Parshendi warrior-people who rejected the old gods, giving up advanced thought and knowledge of the forms of power in exchange for freedom. This left them with only dullform and mateform, but the Last Legion had composed songs as a way to remember the many forms of old in hopes that they would one day be rediscovered. Before Eshonai leaves, her mother gives her a sack of old maps from Eshonai's days as an explorer, which makes her long for the past.

Eshonai leaves her mother's house to attend a meeting with the Five regarding Venli's plan to attempt rediscovery of stormform. Eshonai is hesitant, expressing her concerns regarding the old gods, but eventually agrees to the plan under the condition that she be the first one to try assuming the new form, as Venli's studies and knowledge of the forms are too valuable to risk undergoing the transformation herself.